To get ready for the holidays, we visited visited Nutbrown’s Christmas Tree Farm in Carnegie, PA. And we brought a friend! We partnered with Animal Friends to bring this adoptable cutie, Patriot. See our day below!

Paws and poms led the way on our search through the farm’s rows of fresh pine trees.

Patriot was just as excited as we were to be in the fresh air. Every brunette can use a blonde friend… but we all need a furry best friend! (psst… Patriot is THE sweetest and still up for adoption!)

This December has been all about #RealWishes. We’ve been giving back in our community and encouraging our girls to join in and help make a difference, no matter how big or small.

We kicked off our project by asking our girls to share their #RealWishes with us, and Iskra surprised our winners with a PJ party. Congrats again to the Sigma Kappa Theta Theta chapter at Albright College! These girls give back to their community all year with monthly visits to their local senior living home, and we were so excited to celebrate them.

Check out more of our #RealWishes below!

1. #RealWishes & REAL dogs!

We collected pet toy and supply donations for Animal Friends, then hosted a puppy break with adoptable and therapy dogs.

We surprised Pitt students with a much-needed coffee and sweets break during finals week.

3. Mini Christmas trees at the Ronald McDonald House

Families stay at the Ronald McDonald House while their kids receive treatment at Children’s Hospital, and many will still be there over the holidays. We brought dinner and mini Christmas trees for them to decorate so they could feel a little piece of home while they’re away during tough times.

To us, the holidays are about giving back. Whether you’re donating toys to kids in need or just holding the door for someone, it’s easy to make real wishes come true. Throughout the month, we’re giving back to our communities and sharing our #RealWishes along the way.

We want you to join! Check out our list of 25 easy acts of kindness and share how you’re making a difference with #RealWishes on social.

Buy coffee for the person behind you in line.

Bake cookies for your colleagues.

Send a note to a friend.

Donate toys or supplies to pets at a local animal shelter.

Buy a meal for a homeless person.

Compliment someone amd tell them they’re beautiful.

Write a note of encouragement and leave it in a random place.

Sit with someone who is eating alone.

Buy groceries for someone behind you in line.

Give an extra generous tip to a server.

Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while.

Say hello to five strangers today.

Write a note to thank someone who positively influenced your life.

Donate books to your local library.

Shovel snow from an elderly person’s driveway or sidewalk.

Send flowers to someone who is having a rough day.

Shop at a small, family-owned business.

Donate Christmas presents to a local charity.

Pay the toll for the car behind you.

Leave a treat for your mailman.

Donate your clothes to a non-profit thrift store.

Hold the door for someone.

Send a care package to an active duty military unit.

Donate board games to the Children’s Hospital.

Leave $1 in a random spot with a note encouraging others to pay it forward this holiday season.

This year marks American Eagle Outfitters’ fourth annual AEO Better World Community Day. On Thursday, June 9th, more than 1,000 associates from our corporate offices in Pittsburgh, New York City, San Francisco, China, Hong Kong and Mexico volunteered their time to over 30 different community organizations worldwide. We visited everywhere from the Pittsburgh Zoo to local food kitchens to nature preserves. Check out the below images from our day of volunteer work across the world.

Every year, we work hard to make this day of giving better and bigger, so that we can make a huge impact in helping lives and saving the planet globally. Many of our Community Day projects are grantees of the AEO Foundation. All of the organizations we volunteered withreceived a monetary donation from AEO as well.

Tell us how you are giving back to your community in the comments below.

Through the simple act of purchasing a pair of shorts, you will be doing your part to help our planet. Wondering what 100K trees can do to help the Earth? We’ve got that covered. Read on to learn about the many environmental benefits trees provide to our planet & the impact 100,000 new trees can have:

More Fun Facts:

100K trees are enough to create a 1.3 square mile of dense forest or one the size of Central Park in NYC!

A large tree can give off as much as 100 gallons of water into the air per day. This has a cooling effect roughly equivalent to 10 single-room-sized air conditioning units operating 20 hours per day.

The annual energy cost reduction of a tree is $50.

Cities are constantly in need of new trees to plant. The average tree in an urban area has a life expectancy of eight years.

The bark of one single tree can provide a home for hundreds of living things, including close to 300 species of insects and 350 varieties of lichens. These plants and bugs then provide food for numerous birds and small mammals.

Planting trees remains one of the cheapest, most effective means of drawing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

This Earth Day, do your part to make our planet a greener place! It’s as simple as buying yourself an awesome new pair of AEO Shorts. If you’re looking to take it one step further, click here to learn about upcoming SCA events in your area and how you can participate.

One in every 10 people globally lack access to clean water, with 1 in every 4 using a drinking water source with fecal contamination. It’s time we change this!

This World Water Day, March 22, American Eagle Outfitters has made a commitment to help lower these staggering statistics by joining forces with Planet Water Foundation for Project24. Today, Project24 is building 24 water filtration systems in 24 hours, bringing clean water to 24,000 people across 5 countries including Cambodia, Colombia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This exciting initiative is designed to give underdeveloped communities access to drinking water, while raising support and awareness around the terrible issues of water poverty suffered by so many people throughout the world.

AEO is supporting this program by sponsoring a clean water filtration system in Indonesia where we have a presence. Specifically, our aqua tower will be built on Lombok Island, Indonesia, and we will be partnered with the Cakranegara School located in the village of Sayang Sayang.

AEO is sponsoring this program, because clean water brings hope, health, and opportunity. Each year, 443 million school days are lost due to water-related illness, and children often don’t go to school, because they spend 2-3 hours each day gathering water for their families. We are proud to help bring clean water to 24,000 individuals in 24 hours in partnership with the Planet Water Foundation through this project during World Water Day. You can donate or follow along the journey by visiting Planet Water Foundation at www.planet-water.org.